Apparatus for cleaning obstructions from water-closets, sewer-pipes, or the like.



No. 679,007. Patented July 23, IBM.

F. SENFF.

APPARATUS FOR CLEARING OBS'TRUCTIONS FROM WATER CLOSETS, SEWER PIPES,

OR THE LIKE.

{Application filed Jan. 5, 1900.)

(No Model.)

m: unms zvsas :04 woram'na. WASHINGTON. u. z;v

the county of Kings and State of New York,

3o b owl and yet the board overlap the top of the UNrrE STATES FRIEDRICH SENFF, OF BROOKLYN, NE\V YORK.

APPARATUS FOR CLEARING OBSTRUCTIONS FROM WATER-CLOSETS, SEWER-PIPES, OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 679,007, dated July 23, 1901.

' Application filed January 5, 1900. Serial No. 462. (N0 model.)

To ctZl whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRIEDRICH SENFF, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of and having my post-office address at Brooklyn, in

have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Clearing Obstructions from ater-Closets and the Pipes Connecting Them with the Sewer, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 illustrates a view of the invention, the closet-bowl being shown in vertical section and the apparatus embodying the invention in elevation. Fig. 2 illustrates a vertical sectional view of the apparatus separate from the closet.

A illustrates an ordinary form of bowl for water-closets. They differ somewhat in details of construction; but the form illustrated serves well to illustrate the invention.

B is the usual passage-way through the base of the closet, through which it is emptied.

C is a board or equivalent plate, preferably made larger than the top of the bowl A, so that it may be moved to one side or the other relative to the bowl, in order that the pumpbarrel, hereinafter to be described, may be made eccentric relative to the center of the nowlall around its circumference or upper rim. This position of the parts is illustrated in Fig. 1.

D is the barrel of the pump. It is or may be a perfectly cylindrical metallic tube preferably about three inches in diameter and of sufficiently heavy metal to serve the purposes of the invention.

E is a flange formed on the upper end of the pump-barrel D or attached to it in any suitable manner, whereby the barrel may be connected to the plate or board 0, as by bolts F.

Gris the piston-rod of the pump, H the piston thereof, and I is a packing which forms a peculiar feature of my invention. It fits snugly to the exterior of the pump-cylinder D, but is adapted to be moved up and down upon it when sufficient pressure is applied. It is also elastic, so it may be made to assume a position upon the cylinder D at an angle to a transverse line-that is to say, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Thus it maybe made to conform at all times to the shape and angle of the hole or opening, in the bottom of the closet and seal the joint between the closet and the pump-barrel D when the latter is in position. In Fig. 1 the parts are shown in such a position as referred to. The packing in this instance, however, has but a slight deviation from a true transverse line. In Fig. 2 it is shown in the position it would attain when the hole in the closet is made quite at one side thereof, as sometimes happens,

requently including in its area a portion of the rising side or wall of the closet. The outline of the bottom of the closet in this instance is shown in dotted lines.

J is a stuffing-box fastened to the board O, as shown,and provided with the usual gland K.

L is a handle rigidly connected to the upper end of the piston.

The operation is as follows: When stoppage occurs either in the trap of the closet or in the pipe connecting it with the sewer, the bowl usually becomes more or less filled with water, and of course the pipe and the passage-way through the base of the closet are likewise filled. This being the situation, the handle of the force-pump is drawn upwardly,- so that the piston attains substantially the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 at or near the upper end of the pump-cylinder. Thereupon the apparatus is placed over the bowl (the ordinary cover being tipped backwardly or removed) in such manner that the lower end of the pump-barrel D will enter the outlet or opening in the bottom of the bowl. The packing I is preferably left at or near the bottom of the cylinder prior to the introduction of the same, and after the end has been introduced within the opening then pressure upon the board 0 to force it down upon the upper rim of the bowl will have the effect of sliding the packing I upon the cylinderD, and during this operation, owing to the resistance of the packing, it will inevitably assume such position as will cause it to lie close upon the bottom of the bowl, adjacent to the opening therein, and to conform to the outline or contour of the edges of the hole, as illustrated in Fig. 2, thus efiecting a closure of that joint. If there bea slight leakage, it is unimportant.

As above stated, the board C is made so large that it entirely covers the bowl, so that noxious odors, if they should arise consequent upon stirring the contents of the bowl or pipe below, will be measurably confined within the bowl, and by reason of the suction consequent upon freeing the stoppage they will be drawn downwardly through the pipe and into the sewer.

lVhen the apparatus is in the stated position,the operatoreither kneels upon the board in order to hold it firmly in place or preferably stands upon it with both feet, so that he may firmly grasp the handle of the pump. Thereupon he gives a strong sudden downward thrust of the piston-rod, whereby under a Well-known law the compressed air and water-plug, as it is called,in a'forcible manner ejects the obstruction from its place of lodgment, thus removing the difficulty and returning the closet to its normal condition. It will be obvious to those who are familiar with this art that modifications may be made in the construction of the apparatus without departing from the essential features thereof. Consequently I do not limit myself to the details as described and illustrated, and I wish it to be understood that it is not essential that the board should be of such size as to cover the top of the bowlentirely, whether the pump-cylinder is concentric with the bowl or not. I, however, prefer this construction, for the reasons stated; but the board upon which the apparatus is fastened may be narrowsay six or eight inches in widthand of sufficient length to span across the upper edge of the bowl in all positions of the pump. Indeed, it is not absolutely necessary that it should span across the bowl, because other means for supporting the structure may be devised. I'prefer, however, the form shown by me. Also it is not essential that the stuffingboX to seal the piston-rod should be used; but I prefer its use, because if at any time it should happen that any of the foul liquid came above the piston then if there were not means to seal the joint between the piston-rod and the top of the cylinder upon the upward movement of the piston this foul liquid would be apt to be ejected upwardly with greater or less force and spurt upon the clothing of the user of the apparatus and upon surrounding objects. 7

Although I have shown my apparatus as used in conjunction with water-closets for the I purpose of clearing them and their sewerconnection pipes from obstructions,obviously the device isadapted to other uses where the incidents are substantially the same.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. An apparatus for removing obstructions from closets and waste-pipes, embodying a pump-cylinder provided with a piston and piston-rod, means to operate thepiston, and a fiat disk-shaped packing on the exterior of the cylinder projecting radially therefrom and loosely supported thereon, whereby it is adapted to bend or curl under pressure and thus automatically assume any desired position relative to the cylinder upon the adjustment of the apparatus within the closet-bowl, for the purposes set forth.

2. An apparatus for removing obstructions from closets and waste-pipes, embodying a pump-cylinder provided with a piston and piston-rod, means to operate the piston, a flat disk-shaped packing on the exterior of the cylinder, projecting radially therefrom and loosely supported thereon,whereby it is adapted to bend or curl and thus automatically assume any desired position relative to the cylinder upon the adjustment of the apparatus within the closet-bowl, and a stuffing-box at the upper end of the cylinder, for the purposes set forth.

3. An apparatus for removing obstructions from closets and Waste-pipes, embodying a pump-cylinder provided with a piston and piston-rod and means to operate the same, said apparatus-as a whole being supported upon a board or like device of such area as to cover the bowl whether the cylinder is concentric with it or not, and a flat disk-shaped packing projecting radially from the cylinder and loosely supported thereon whereby it will automatically adjust itself to the shape of the bottom of the bowl adjacent to the opening thereof upon the adjustment of the apparatus within the bowl, for the purposes set forth.

Signed at Brooklyn, New York city, inthe county of Kings and State of New York, this 30th day of December, 1899.

FRIEDRICH SENFF.

Witnesses GUSTAVE HURLIMANN, WILHELM MEINZER. 7 

